grime and grit
By Elisabeth Flett
you sit opposite me on a bench in a central london wagamama
and talk of childhood nostalgia
the words filling me up with the taste of soil and rust
swallowing the sudden stench of must and damp
as I stir my matcha ice cream into a muddy soup
they said it was a game as they locked the door
the boy with blonde hair and a quick laugh
turning away as he pocketed the key
let’s see how long it takes for her to get out
you tell me only an only child would hold onto something so small
and I nod because I can tell the words you’re not saying
are worse than the ones you are
but afterwards as I stand in the bathroom
pretending to fix my hair so I don’t have to look you in the eye
I think of the way my shoulder slammed against the door
wood splintering under my determination
a six year old fury exploding
into that springtime garden afternoon
with grime and grit
and I know you didn’t understand
what I meant when I said that moment made me
the small cruelties of small children
forging me into something made of more power
than they ever could have imagined
Elisabeth Flett
Elisabeth Flett is an award-winning writer, theatre-maker, musician and general feminist trouble maker.
Elisabeth was the winner of University of Aberdeen’s Literary Lights Non-Fiction Prize 2021 and July 2023 City of Poets Tiny Prize. She won Second Place in the Briefly Write Poetry Prize 2023, and was one of the three prize winners for the UK Magnetics Society Academic Journal Poetry Competition 2024.
Elisabeth is passionate about mental health awareness, LGBTQ+ rights and gender equality, themes which often feature in all forms of their work as a creative practitioner.
Photo credit: Help Stay
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